LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis went to the Lakers’ locker room midway through the third quarter Sunday night after getting hit in the face while blocking a dunk attempt by Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl.
The nine-time All-Star was ruled out for the rest of the night with an eye injury. The Lakers trailed by three when Poeltl inadvertently poked Davis in the eye with his off hand, but Los Angeles surged to a 123-103 victory in the star big man's absence.
“I just know that he got poked in (his left eye),” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “He was having trouble seeing. Obviously, take a little trauma to the eye, and it takes a little bit of time to get your clear vision back. But other than that, no update.”
Davis got hurt while making a sensational block of Poeltl’s dunk attempt in the lane with 5:16 left in the third quarter. While the Lakers’ home crowd roared, Davis went down in obvious pain, rocking back and forth on the ground with his hands on his face. He stayed down for about a minute before walking to the Lakers’ dressing room.
LeBron James took charge in Davis' absence, recording his 115th triple-double while Los Angeles finished the final 17 minutes on a 53-30 run. James finished with 19 points, a season-high 16 assists and 10 rebounds.
“AD is a big-time rebounder, so I had to pick up some of the slack with the defensive rebounding,” James said. “And then with AD out, I'm taking a lot of eyes (that would be on) AD, because he's putting so much pressure on defenses this season. I take some of that responsibility as well. Something I've been able to do for quite a while, so it's not hard for me to be able to tap into that, even though that's not been my role this year so far.”
Davis incurred a corneal abrasion in the same eye last March during a game against Golden State. He didn’t miss a game with that painful injury, returning two days later.
Davis is off to an outstanding start to the season, sparking early MVP talk. He began the night leading the NBA in scoring at 32.4 points per game, along with 11.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists, and he has six 30-point games already this season.
Davis had 22 points, four rebounds and two blocks before getting hurt against the Raptors.
Jaxson Hayes took Davis' spot in the Lakers' rotation and quickly contributed three dunks and a layup while the Lakers pulled ahead. Hayes, the only other player taller than 6-foot-9 on the Lakers' roster, finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
“It requires more from everyone else," Redick said. "Jaxson stepped up to that moment, played both ends of the court and gave us a few extra possessions. Just his energy, I thought, really uplifted the group.”
Davis missed last Wednesday's game in Memphis with a bruised left heel. The big man has a long history of injury problems, but he played in a career-high 76 games last season.
The Lakers' next game is Wednesday night at home, also against the Grizzlies.
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Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) reaches for a rebound against Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) reacts after missing on a basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Toronto Raptors, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis, left, grabs a loose ball next to Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump stunned the Pentagon and the broader defense world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary, tapping someone largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage to take over the world's largest and most powerful military.
The news was met with bewilderment and worry among many in Washington as Trump passed on a number of established national security heavy-hitters and chose an Army National Guard captain well known in conservative circles as a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
While some Republican lawmakers had a muted response to the announcement, others called his combat experience an asset or said he was “tremendously capable.”
Hegseth's choice could bring sweeping changes to the military. He has made it clear on his show and in interviews that, like Trump, he is opposed to “woke” programs that promote equity and inclusion. He also has questioned the role of women in combat and advocated pardoning service members charged with war crimes.
In June, at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump encouraged his supporters to buy Hegseth’s book and said that if he won the presidency, "The woke stuff will be gone within a period of 24 hours. I can tell you.”
The 44-year-old Hegseth, a staunch conservative who embraces Trump's “America First” policies, has pushed for making the military more lethal. During an interview on “The Shawn Ryan Show” podcast, he said allowing women to serve in combat hurts that effort.
“Everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and complication in combat, that means casualties are worse,” Hegseth said.
And while he said diversity in the military is a strength, he said it was because minority and white men can perform similarly but the same isn't true for women.
By opening combat slots to women, “we’ve changed the standards in putting them there, which means you’ve changed the capability of that unit,” Hegseth said in the podcast interview.
Since then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter opened all combat roles to women in 2016, women have successfully passed the military's grueling tests to become Green Berets and Army Rangers, and the Naval Special Warfare's test to serve as a combatant-craft crewman — the boat operators who transport Navy SEALs and conduct their own classified missions at sea.
While Trump lauded Hegseth as “tough, smart and a true believer in America First,” others were quick to point to the TV personality's lack of experience. Some suggested he could be Pentagon chief in name only as the Trump White House runs the department.
A number of other names floated as possible defense choices had included Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg; Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; and Robert Wilkie, a former Pentagon official who was head of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Trump's first term.
“There is reason for concern that this is not a person who is a serious enough policymaker, serious enough policy implementer, to do a successful job,” said Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Hegseth's lack of senior national security experience makes it more difficult to get Senate confirmation.
“I think Trump was tired of fighting with his secretaries of defense and picked one who would be loyal to him,” Cancian said.
Military officials said the choice came out of the blue. A senior military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said Hegseth's selection is raising concerns about whether he has the practical experience to manage a large department with an enormous budget.
The Defense Department has a budget exceeding $800 billion, with about 1.3 million active-duty troops and another 1.4 million in the National Guard, Reserves and civilian employees based worldwide.
If confirmed, Hegseth would face a daunting array of global crises, from the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and the expanding alliance between Russia and North Korea to the growing competition with China. There is also the need to upgrade the complex U.S. missile and nuclear defense apparatus and ensure the defense industry can keep up with America's need for weapons systems.
Smith said that while Hegseth's combat experience is a plus, running the Pentagon requires a lot of other skill sets, and his nomination will need some time for consideration.
“What’s your plan? What are you going to do? ... How can you assure us that that lack of experience, you know, isn’t going to make it impossible for you to do the job?” Smith said. “I think those are questions that need to be answered over the next couple of months.”
Even some Republicans in the Senate, who would vote on his nomination, had a subdued response.
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis called the choice “interesting.” Indiana Sen. Todd Young, who served in the Marine Corps, said, “I don’t know much about his background or his vision, so I look forward to learning more.”
North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven said he’s not surprised that Trump chose Hegseth because Trump is “close to him and likes him and trusts him.”
“The guy’s obviously tremendously capable, a great communicator," Hoeven said. "I look forward to getting to know him better.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Hegseth brings a lot to the table and will be "reform-minded in the areas that need reform.”
Hegseth has been a contributor since 2014 for Fox News, developing a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on his show. He is the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.”
“With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down,” Trump said in a statement. “Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy.”
Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.
FILE - Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
File - President Donald Trump appears on Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth at a Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Trump's defense choice stuns the Pentagon, raises questions about the Fox News host's experience
Trump's defense choice stuns the Pentagon, raises questions about the Fox News host's experience
